Free tool · Cottage food label rules

Tennessee cottage food label rules

What has to be on the label when you sell homemade baked goods in Tennessee, and the limits that matter at a market. Checked September 2026.

Another state Mostly confirmed. Check the open points below

Your label must include

Required statement

“This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.”

Information goes on the package label, a container label for bulk items, a point-of-sale placard for unpackaged items, or the webpage for internet sales. For phone/custom orders the residence/allergen notice may be given verbally, with contact info and ingredients available on request. No font size specified.

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Sunny Crumb Co. · 123 Palm Ave, Your City, TN 00000

(305) 555-0188 · hello@sunnycrumb.co

Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), brown sugar, toffee bits (sugar, butter, almonds, soy lecithin), eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, sea salt.

This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.

Sample label for illustration, made from the checklist above. Your own label has to match your recipe and your state’s exact rules.

Key limits in Tennessee

Permit: None — no state permit, license, registration or inspection.
Training: none
Sales cap: none
Where you can sell: Direct to consumers in Tennessee (farmers markets, events, home) and, for non-TCS items like cookies, through agents or third-party vendors such as retail and grocery stores; TCS foods in person direct to consumer only.
Online & shipping: Phone and internet sales allowed for non-TCS items; delivery by producer, agent, vendor or third-party carrier; sales only within Tennessee (no out-of-state).
Law: Tennessee Food Freedom Act, T.C.A. § 53-1-118 (2022; amended by Public Chapter 431, effective July 1, 2025)

What we could not confirm (2)

Could not read the 2025 amended statute text directly; label wording confirmed from 2023 statute and UT Extension 2025 publication
Whether the 2025 amendment changed any label element beyond TCS foods not confirmed

Check with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture (exempt — TDA does not issue permits or inspect); UT Extension provides guidance

Last change to the law: July 1, 2025 (Public Chapter 431 — added some time/temperature-controlled foods)

Sources

Made by BakerBacker

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

BakerBacker builds your Tennessee label from each recipe: ingredients in order, allergens and the required statement. Change a recipe and every label updates. It also prices your cookies, takes pre-orders and writes the week’s posts.

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This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and counties can add their own. Confirm with Tennessee Department of Agriculture (exempt — TDA does not issue permits or inspect); UT Extension provides guidance before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Tennessee cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

Other states